Pokémon X and Y: How to get all of the starters

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Pokémon X and Y, while adding a bunch of new core mechanics to the venerable series, have actually added one new mechanic that is both exciting and frustrating… and passes you by as quickly as it comes. In each iteration of the series, you begin the game with a choice of a single starter Pokémon from a set of three, and cannot obtain the other two by simply throwing a Poké Ball. They’re obtainable, sure, but only through tedious, somewhat luck-based methods. Pokémon X and Y breaks the mold of the series and offers a starter each from two different sets of three, but that leaves you with four unobtainable critters. There are multiple ways to obtain them, and X and Y makes it a little easier than past iterations.

Getting your first two starters

The two starters are unmissable, and happen through standard game progression.

Obviously, at the beginning of the game you can choose one of three starters, as tradition: Chespin (grass), Fennekin (fire), Froakie (water). Not too long after you receive your starter — only a few small towns away — you get to choose one of another three starters. This time, your choice of three comes from the original Red and Blue — Bulbasaur (grass), Chamander (fire), and Squirtle (water). So, though the game gives you a second starter, it doubles the amount of starters on which you’re now missing out.

The breeding method

Perhaps the most popular way to obtain the other starters is through breeding Pokémon. Breeding is — and has always been — a tedious experience in the series, but is the only way to have control over Pokémon generation. Choosing which parents are involved in the breeding process allows you to choose which type of creature pops out. So, breeding your starter can generate new iterations of that starter that you can put up for trade. Trading your bred starter for someone else’s bred starter is a trade you’ll frequently find available. The problem here, though, is that you need two of the same Pokémon — one male, one female — in order to make babymon, so you still can’t use your one starter Fennekin, for example, to make a new Fennekin you can trade.

The solution is to breed your starter with a Ditto, which is a Pokémon that can be found toward the end of the game (after defeating the Elite Four) in the Pokémon Village. Capture the Ditto, then send your starter and Ditto to make sweet, sweet love in the Day Care on Route 7. Eventually, they’ll pop out an egg, which requires a certain amount of in-game steps before it can hatch. This is made easier by finding a long path, and walking it over and over. You can use the Bicycle to speed up the process. The path outside the Day Care on Route 7 — that goes across the Battle Chateau and gorgeous view of the lake — is conveniently located for egg-hatching.

Once your new starter pops out of the egg, head to the GTS via the start menu. Simply search for the starter Pokémon you want, then set a filter (click the magnifying glass in the lower left corner of the results screen) to only show people who are looking for creatures you own. If you can’t find what you want, simply deposit your new starter in the GTS and set the trade requirements to the other starter you’re looking for. Currently, most starters are being traded for other starters on the GTS, so it should be pretty easy to find what you’re looking for.